While you are at work

Why companies need to provide employees childcare support in the workplace.

advertisement

India Today Woman

December 22, 2017

ISSUE DATE: January 1, 2018

UPDATED: January 18, 2018 12:10 IST

Illustration by Siddhant Jumde

While companies interested in attracting and retaining talent aim to offer a level playing field for women and men, there are still some challenges that are difficult to overcome. For instance, the professional setback that women can experience when they become mothers.

It is a fact that women are likely to reduce the hours they put into work, or quit their jobs altogether, to care for their children due to lack of alternative, affordable, quality childcare services. With more women leaving the workforce, this can also pose a significant attrition cost to an employers' bottom line to rehire and retrain new employees.

Increasing access to quality childcare has therefore become vital for companies who want to enable both parents partake equally in the workforce. Companies that want to invest in improved working conditions and equal opportunities for their employees should consider assessing their childcare needs to offer feasible solutions at the workplace.

At the beginning of each successful company-supported childcare journey is a better understanding of employees' needs. Employee preferences are an important component of understanding the potential demand for employer-supported childcare, and make case for better addressing four key childcare issues that parents face- availability, affordability, accessibility and quality.

Availability

It captures both the overall supply of childcare services in the local labour market and whether childcare is available when parents need to work. Important questions from the perspective of parents' that can help employers arrive at best solutions to address availability include issues such as are places available, is childcare available when needed, and is childcare available during emergencies.

Affordability

Affordability assesses the childcare costs. Although childcare may be available, high costs can discourage parents from using external facilities. According to Borusan Mannesmann, Turkey's leading steel pipe manufacturer, the most effective support for working parents for its blue-collar workforce was a childcare subsidy.

When it comes to affordability, employers should consider questions from parents' point of view such as can I afford to pay for childcare, do I want to pay for childcare, and am I earning enough after paying for childcare to make working worthwhile?

Accessibility

Accessibility captures the ease and safety with which childcare services can be reached. Many employees do not always live near their place of work. In urban areas, getting to work can involve long commutes, which parents might not consider safe or healthy for a child. So, the most pertinent questions for working couples are-can I get my child to the facility, is transport safe and affordable, and can I get to my child during work.

Quality

Excellent childcare is essential to parents' abilities to balance work success with family responsibilities, and should address questions such as is my child safe, is care reliable, and does my child learn and thrive? When employers stand to offer childcare solutions to their employees, they are benefiting the entire family, not just an employee.

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from